Vision Express Aarrrgghhhhh

kazzy

My husband has just had the most stressful time with them.They are soooooo bloody incompetant.
He ordered a pair of rimless glasses-varifocal at the cost of £405(incl insurance).These we were told took a longer (2 weeks).we accepted this and waited.3 weeks later he goes in to get his specs.I notice straight away that they haven't been deglazed around the edges and he said the varifocal was wrong.We went to another local optician first to confirm what we thought was wrong and she said are these meant to be polycarbonate lenses and we said yes.Well she said i'm sure they are not.
Well we go back to VE where to be fair the manager is a nice chap.He said they should never have gone out without being deglazed and that 'no' they weren't polycarbonate.He promises a replacement pair of lenses(also to correct the varifocal).
In the meantime if we just hang on he will deglaze glasses.This looked like it had been done by a child and caused the glasses to be wobbly where the nose piece attaches to the lense.
So hubby wears his old glasses til the new ones arrive.They now have Polycarbonate lenses which thay attach to the original frame.This doesn't work as they are still wobbly(using the original frame).Anyway we take these specs away with the promise of a whole new pair of glasses and frames aswell.4 weeks later and several phone calls we arrive for new specs.One look at them and despair-where they have been deglazed some idiot has used acetate around the edge which melts th poly carb!!!!!.
At this stage the manager offers another pair and gives us a full refund(without being asked) and orders another pair.
We go back,yes 4 weeks later and specs are there but not been deglazed. He convinces my husband to leave them as they are as it is so difficult to deglaze polycarb!!!!(why do so many people i know seem to have deglazed polycarb lenses which look fine but V E can't do this.)The manager says oh this is why we try and stay away from polycarb!!!!!! They are a bloody opticians for gawd sake aaaarrrrggghhhhhh.
Anyway hubby takes his unwobbly undeglazed glasses away.They have been ok for 6 weeks til yesterday!! Oh yes they had started to wobble!!!!.
He took them into VE and the manager repairs them and announces they now have a proper machine to do this????????????????????????????????????I ask you.
We are not at all happy with the glasses as we wanted them deglazed but are just leaving well alone.We ended up with 2 pairs of specs and a refund but this does not detract from the fact that VE are advertising that they provide something and they clearly cannot.I would NEVER EVER buy another pair of glasses from them again.
Thanks for reading my sermon!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!AMEN

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stamp out political correctness!

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Last edited by kazzy : Today at 9:11 AM.

poorcat

I've got a Vision Express moan of my own after a very nasty experience there yesterday - here's the letter I emailed to their head office last night...

"Dear Sir/Madam
I never thought I’d have reason to write to you with a complaint, but one of your opticians has really upset me today.
I first visited your store a few weeks ago for an eye test, following recommendations from a number of people. I was very impressed with the tests/equipment. The optician recommended that I return at a later date for a field vision test, and to have my eyes dilated for a closer look. “It won’t cost extra,” he said, “it’s included in the price of the eye test.”
He then directed me in person to the in-store selection of frames – something I have never known an optician do in the past.
I had a look at the frames, and also enquired about the cost of lenses, and estimated that a new pair from Vision Express would cost me at least £250-£300. I told the assistant I wouldn’t make a decision that day.
When I paid for my eye test, along with my receipt I was given my prescription.
Not having seen a pair I was happy with in Vision Express, I looked around the town.
After a few days, I found a pair I really liked, in another opticians for £108.
So I got my new specs, thought no more about it, went back to Vision Express for my further tests.
All went well until he returned my glasses to me. “I see you bought them elsewhere,” he said. “Yes,” I said, “I got them down the road. It was a good offer.”
“The eye test is a loss leader, you know,” he said. “You shouldn’t buy the glasses elsewhere. And these tests today are part of the after-care service, which you’re not really entitled to.” I didn’t know what to say to that, but asked him if everything was OK with my tests, to which he gave a rather dismissive “oh yeah”, so I asked him if I should have these extra tests every time I had an eye test.
“I don’t know,” he said. “It depends what they offer down the road.”
I was completely thrown. He’d put dilating eye drops in, my vision was blurred, so I was feeling a bit vulnerable, and so surprised that I just walked out. It would have been nice to have been asked if I could see well enough to leave, especially as I was in charge of a toddler son and pushchair, but service seemed to have been terminated, and so I left.
The experience was so upsetting that when I got outside, I cried.
I’m not an expert on opticians, but as far as I know, the eye test is a NHS-subsidised service, and doesn’t oblige me to buy frames/lenses from the optician conducting the test.
My past experience of opticians is that they are professionals, not salespeople. I have never come across anything like this attitude in the past, and I hope I don’t in the future. It appears as if I’m not welcome back at Vision Express; my husband will not be returning either (and he has bought frames/glasses from you), and unfortunately I don’t feel like I can recommend it to other people either.
When I went into my previous optician to get my prescription before attending Vision Express for the original eye test, it was handed over with a friendly smile. They may not have such state-of-the-art equipment, but it is there I will be returning in the future.
I will add that the other members of staff in Vision Express are fantastic – all very friendly and helpful, and even keeping my son amused while I had my field vision test."

I actually toned the letter down quite a bit because I didn't want to sound like a raving loony, but I was really very upset by this experience. I'd had a really rubbish day anyway, and what probably seemed like a sarcastic throwaway comment to him was the final straw for me.
Funnily enough, last night, I read the bit in The Money Diet about how opticians are legally obliged to hand over your prescription so you can go elsewhere to buy your contact lenses (so obviously specs as well) - didn't say you had to put up with this sort of treatment with it.

Bogof_Babe

I'm glad to read this thread, as they have been bombarding me with reminders to go for a test, it being over two years since my last one.

I only chose them on that occasion as I wanted prescription glasses urgently, prior to an operation which would involve a few weeks' recuperation (plenty of reading time ) . Up to then I'd managed with cheap off-the-shelf reading glasses, but they weren't quite right for ongoing use.

To cut a long story short, I might as well not have bothered, as they had some sort of "mix up" and I didn't get my specs for a month, which defeated the original objective.

I've found a lovely local private optician, and will now definitely go there in future. Thanks for the warning!

Davidboy

I offer a challenge out there, has anyone, I repeat anyone got their glasses in an hour???? My wife & I never have done yet.

I will never use them again, aweful place, terrible service, far too expensive, I'm going to try other places now like, glassesdirect.com